Zynga CEO Mark Pincus broke the news of massive layoffs at his social gaming company. A total of 520 jobs, or 18% of the company’s workforce, were removed and Zynga positioned the layoffs as a crucial step in its transition from making social games for the desktop to creating mobile games.
With this huge step, how will the maker of popular games like Farmville and Texas Hold ‘Em move forward? We asked our readers, ‘What comes first for Zynga?’
80.56% of the votes answered ‘More Layoffs’. The company said that the cuts will save the company $70m to $80m in annual expenses and with Zynga’s shares plummeting 12 percent after the announcement last Monday, it would come as a surprise if more people get axed just so the company could keep afloat while waiting for its real-money online poker.
19.44% of the votes were ‘Real Money Poker’. We have some hopefuls over here, at least. Though Zynga Poker, one of Zynga’s few titles that retain a solid user base, has seen a decline in active players, there are still those who believe that Zynga got rid of these people so they can focus on building a solid real-money online poker client.
Zynga has filed for a preliminary finding of suitability from Nevada gaming regulators. The question is, with Zynga not being able to release hit game titles anymore, will the company be around long enough for an online poker license?
This week, our new poll asks our readers, ‘how closely do you follow the WSOP?’ Do you know every bracelet winner, just the bigger events, only the main event or are you playing poker in Vegas during the WSOP? Let us know!
